Tesla’s orders in China declined by nearly half during May

Tesla Inc’s vehicle orders in China almost halved in May from April as the government scrutiny on the automaker continues to increase.

The automaker’s monthly net orders in China declined to about 9,800 in May from over 18,000 in April.

China is Tesla’s second-biggest market after the United States and represents about 30% of its sales.

The automaker makes electric Model 3 sedans and Model Y sport-utility vehicles in a Shanghai plant.

Tesla has been under scrutiny in China mainly over handling data collected by vehicle cameras and sensors.

Staff at some Chinese government offices have been informed not to park their Tesla cars inside government compounds because of concerns over security and vehicle cameras.

Last month, Tesla established China site to store car data locally.